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The  Montessori  Didactic  Apparatus 

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Copyrighted,  1913.  by  the  House  of  Childhood  (Inc.)  . 


'  ir  WE  SUCCEED  IN  GIVING  THE  LOVE  OF  LEARNING. 
THE  LEARNING  ITSELF  IS  SURE  TO  FOLLOW" 


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iSdaniif  actur  ed     and     Sold     by 


200  Fifth  Ave.       XhC    House    of    Childhood       New  York  City 


INCORPORATED 


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""E  HAVE  received  many  requests  for  certain  parts  of  the  Montessori 
Didactic  Apparatus.  Some  say  they  want  the  "geometric  insets;" 
others  the  "sandpaper  letters;"  others  the  "long  stair,"  etc.  We 
firmly  believe  with  Dr.  Montessori  that  there  would  be  very  little 
educational  value  in  the  equipment  if  used  in  such  a  way.  The 
Montessori  Didactic  Apparatus  is  distributed  only  in  complete 
sets,  for  several  reasons.  There  is  not  only  a  practical,  but  a 
scientific  reason,  for  each  piece  of  the  material.  The  equipment  is  designed  largely 
for  sensory  training;  for  the  developing  of  initiative  and  self-control  in  the  child. 
While  the  sequence  is  not  dogmatic,  yet  the  material  is  so  closely  connected  that 
to  discard  part  of  the  equipment  would  simply  mean  that  the  child  would  lose  that 
phase  of  the  training  for  which  that  particular  material  was  designed. 

If  you  expect  to  apply  this  apparatus  according  to  Dr.  Montessori's  ideas, 
YOU  WILL  FIND  NOTHING  SUPERFLUOUS. 

Again,  we  wish  to  say  that  the  material  is  designed  to  aid  the  child  in  his 
natural  and  normal  development,  and  you  will  find  a  distinct  use  for  each  piece 
of  the  apparatus  when  applied  according  to  the  principles  of  the  Montessori  Method. 

The  House  of   Childhood   (Inc.) 


200  FIFTH  AVENUE 


NEW  YORK  CITY 


THE  MONTESSORI  DIDACTIC  APPARATUS  Is  designed 
to  aid  the  child  in  the  most  critical  period  of  his  life.  It 
is  made  from  the  child's  point  of  view,  to  satisfy  that  innate 
craving  for  activity.  It  is  especially  eifective  in  the  developing 
of  the  senses,  and  has  been  called  by  some  educators,  "sense-training 
material."  But  it  is  more  than  this.  Because  the  child  really  un- 
derstands what  he  is  doing  and  because  of  the  self-correcting  element 
that  prevails,  there  is  developed  in  him,  initiative,  self-control  and 
concentration. 

As  Dorothy  Canfield  Fisher,  author  of  "A  Montessori  Mother," 
well  says,  "This  fascinating  educative  material  meets  an  inner  need 
of  the  child's  nature  and  it  continues  to  interest  him  month  after 
month,  covering  as  it  does  nearly  all  the  range  of  indoor  interests 
possible  to  a  child."  A  great  many  mothers  and  teachers  who  are 
well  grounded  in  Doctor  Montessori's  book,  "The  Montessori 
Method,"  are  progressing  splendidly  in  the  use  of  this  apparatus. 


266901 


[1] 


^THBIMONTESSORI  DIDACTIC  APPARATUS 

.••:  0  ':  I ..:  A ..)  Dressing  Frames 

AMONG  the  first  educational  gymnastics  used  in 
the  Montessori  Method  are  exercises  for  the 
development  of  co-ordinated  movements  of 
the  fingers.  These  are  accomplished  by  means  of  a 
set  of  eight  frames  which  prepare  the  children  for  exer- 
cises of  practical  life,  such  as  dressing  and  undressing 
themselves. 


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ON  SIX  wooden  frames  are  mounted  six  pieces 
of  cloth  of  varying  qualities,  to  be  joined  by 
means  of  large  buttons  and  buttonholes,  auto- 
matic fasteners,  small  buttons  and  buttonholes,  hooks 
and  eyes,  colored  ribbons  for  bow  tying,  and  lacing 
through  eyelets.  There  are  two  similar  frames 
mounted  with  leather  pieces,  one  of  which  stimulates 
shoe  lacing  and  the  other  mounted  with  shoe  buttons 
to  be  fastened  with  a  button  hook. 


[3) 


THE  child  learns  to  dress  himself  without  his 
really  knowing  that  a  lesson  is  being  taught. 
When  the  children  have  mastered  this  work, 
their  first  desire  is  to  make  a  practical  application  of 
their  new  ability. 


[4J 


THUS     the  use  of  these  frames  not  only  teaches 
the    children    to    dress    themselves,    but    makes 
possible     the     simpler    motor    correlations     for 
training  the   child   in   the   use  of  his   hands.      Indeed, 
this  is  the  primary  function  of  these  materials. 


15] 


SOLID  GEOMETRICAL  INSETS 

THESE  are  three  series  of  wooden  cylinders  set 
in  corresponding  liolcs.  In  the  first  series, 
height  is  constant,  diameter  varies;  in  the 
second  series,  diameter  is  constant,  height  varies; 
in  the  third  series,  the  cylindrical  form  alone  is  con- 
stant, height  and  diameter  vary.  In  these  exercises 
the  child  first  begins  to  fix  his  attention  upon  differ- 
ences in  dimension  and  form.  They  present  chiefly  an 
exercise  in  visual  perception  in  differences.  The 
material  controls  the  error. 


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WITH  these  insets  the  child,  working  independ- 
ently, learns  to  discriminate  objects  according 
to  thickness,  height  and  size.  If  he  places 
the  next-to-the-largest  cylinder  in  the  largest  hole,  he 
will  find  himself  in  the  end  with  the  largest  cylinder  for 
the  smallest  hole.  If  he  places  the  tallest  one  in  the 
shallowest  opening,  it  sticks  out  and  extends  above  the 
surface.  The  child  working  with  these  fixes  his  atten- 
tion upon  dimension  and  upon  form. 


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THESE  cylinder  sets  prepare  him  for  the  more  diffi 
cult  exercises  that  are  to  follow. 

This  material  is  truly  auto-educational.  The 
child  cannot  fail  to  realize  an  error,  and  to  see  immediately 
how  to  correct  it. 


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THE  TOWER 

THIS  forms  the  first  in  the  three  series  of  blocks.      It  consists  of  a  set 
of  ten  wooden  cubes  painted  rose  color,   decreasing  regularly  in  size 
from  ten  centimeters  to  one  centimeter.     These  are  used  by  superim- 
posing one  upon  the  other  from  the  largest  to  the  smallest. 


The  general  dimension  of  size  is  learned  from  "The  Tower.' 
is  self-corrective,  as  a  misplaced  block  breaks  the  line. 


This,  too, 


THE  BROAD  STAIR 

This  is  the  second  set  in  the  three  series  of  blocks.  It  is  a  set  of  ten  rectangu- 
lar wooden  blocks  decreasing  in  height  and  width,  length  only  being  constant. 
Its  function  is  to-teach  the  dimension  of  thickness  and  it  is  another  exercise 
for  visual  perception  of  differences  of  dimension. 


ra] 


THE  LONG  STAIR 

THE  "Long  Stair"  is  a  set  of  ten  wooden  square  rods,  which  vary  only 
in  length.     The  first  is  one  meter  long,  the  last  one  decimeter  and  the 
intervening  ones  diminishing  one  decimeter  each.     They  are  marked 
ofi"  in  decimeters  which  are  painted  alternately  red  and  blue. 

The  set  teaches  first  of  all  the  dimension  of  length,  and  is  later  used  in  the 
teaching  of  numbers,  addition,  subtraction  and  decimals. 

It  offers  a  very  evident  control  of  errors  through  the  regularity  of  the 
decreasing  length  of  the  stairs  as  well  as  through  the  alternate  colors. 

Children  take  great  delight  in  solving  the  little  problems  of  the  "Tower," 
the  "Broad  Stair"  and  the  "Long  Stair,"  which  are  of  inestimable  value  in 
the  teaching  of  classifications  and  discriminations. 


[10] 


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COLOR  BOXES 

THIS  set  consists  of  two  duplicate  color  boxes 
containing  in  all  one  hundred  twenty-eight  color 
spools  for  use  in  the  chromatic  exercises.  There 
are  eight  colors,  each  presented  in  a  series  of  eight 
shades.  These  colors  are  not  presented  to  teach  stand- 
ards of  color,  but  to  enable  the  child  to  make  very  fine 
color  discriminations.  Colors  are  first  presented  to  the 
child  in  shades  strongly  contrasting.  There  is  a  regular 
presentation  of  these  color  spools  and  the  training  gives 
the  child  very  large  sensory  impressions  and  asso- 
ciations. 

Montessori  children  show  the  most  exquisite  apprecia- 
tion and  knowledge  of  colors.  A  great  variety  of 
games  is  made  possible  by  these  two  boxes,  and  the 
Montessori  children  very  quickly  acquire  a  proficiency 
at  which  we  stand  amazed. 


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MATERIALS    FOR   TEACHING    ROUGH    AND   SMOOTH 


FOR  the  training  of  the  tactile  sense  are  provided  two 
small  boards.  One  board,  one-half  of  which  has  a 
smooth,  polished  surface,  has  on  the  other  half  a 
sandpaper  surface.  The  other  board  is  covered  with  alter- 
nate strips  of  sandpaper,  and  is  alternately  rough  and 
smooth.  These  two  pieces  offer  the  first  training  of  the 
tactile  sense,  and  are  a  direct  preparation  for  learning  the 
sandpaper  letters. 


[12] 


THE  FABRIC  BOX 

THIS  set  consists  of  a  collection 
of  fabrics  arranged  in  a  com- 
pact little  cabinet  with  draw- 
ers. There  are  samples'  of  velvet, 
wool,  silk,  fine  and  coarse  cotton, 
and  fine  and  coarse  linen.  These 
materials  are  used  to  stimulate  and 
to  train  further  the  tactile  sense, 
adding  knowledge  regarding  equality, 
as  coarse,  fine,  soft,  etc. 

There  are  duplicates  of  each  fabric 
which  increase  the  possibilities  of 
presentation. 


[131 


PLANE   GEOMETRICAL  INSETS  IN  WOOD 

THIS  set  consists  of  a  specially  designed  six-drawer 
cabinet,  thirty-two  geometrical  insets,  four  plain 
wooden  squares,  and  a  pattern  in  an  adjustable 
frame,    making   possible   any   desired   combination   of 
forms. 

1.  A  series  of  four  plain  wooden  squares;  Rhomboid 

and  Trapezoid. 

2.  A  series  of  six  Polygons. 

3.  A  series  of  six  Circles  diminishing  in  size. 

4.  A  series  of  Quadrilaterals  containing  one  square 

and  five  rectangles. 

5.  A  series  of  five  Triangles. 

G.     Oval,  Ellipse,  Flower  Forms,  etc. 


[Ill 


[15] 


THESE  insets  are  used  in  the  education  of  the 
stereognostic  sense.  The  insets  are  mixed  up 
and  the  child  puts  them  into  place.  The  child 
learns  to  set  the  inset  into  its  place  both  by  sight  and 
by  touch.  To  develop  the  sense  of  touch  and  the 
muscular  sense,  the  children  are  blindfolded.  This 
makes  the  exercise  more  complex 


Trav  tor  W  ooden  Insets 


[16] 


Afi/i;:iO''fi..:0::; 
PLANE  GEOMETRIC  FORMS 

Reproduced  in  Three  Series  of  Cards 

^  1  THROUGH    the    games    with    these    the    child 
A      passes  from  a  concrete  to  an  abstract  form. 

In  the  first,  the  forms  are  mounted  in  soHd  blue  on 
the  card;  in  the  second,  a  thick  outline  of  the  form; 
in  the  third,  the  outline  of  the  form  is  represented 
by  a  thin  blue  line. 

The  child  mixes  up  a  series  of  cards  and  a  series  of 
solid   wooden   forms,   and   then   arranges   the   corre- 
sponding wooden  pieces  upon  the  card  form.      Here 
the  control  lies  in  the  eyes.     The  child  must  recog- 
nize the  figure  and  hide  it  with  the  corresponding 
wooden   form. 

The  child,  through  these  series  of  cards,  is  passing 
gradually  from  the  concrete  to  the  abstract.     He  has 
passed  from  solid  object  to  plane  figures  and  finally 

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[21] 


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PLANE    GEOMETRICAL 
INSETS  MADE  IN  METAL 

THESE  are  used  by  the 
child  in  his  first  exercises 
in  design. 
The  child  draws  around  the 
form  and  then  fills  in  the  out- 
line with  colored  crayons.  The 
only  new  step  is  the  handling 
of  the  crayon. 

This  is  a  very  definite  prepara- 
tion for  writing  through  design. 


Box    (or  Mertl    hisels 


[22] 


ACCOAIPANYING    the    metal    insets    are    two 
little  tables  with  sloped  tops,  large  enough  to 
hold   three   of   the   metal   insets    and   intended 
to  be  placed  by  the  child  on  his  own  table. 


123] 


ALPHABET   BOXES 

Two  cases   containing  in  various   compartments 
all    the    letters    cut    in    script   from    some    stiff 
paper.     The  consonants  are  in  rose  color  while 
the  vowels  are  in  blue.     These  boxes  contain  five  com- 
plete  alphabets. 


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ALPHABET 

Consisting    oj     Script 
Letters   in  Sandpaper 

THESE  sandpaper  letters 
arc  of  little  educational 
value  in  themselves,  but 
as  the  last  step  in  a  long  series 
of  sensory  and  motor  correla- 
tions, they  teach  children  to 
write  an   almost   perfect  script. 


[23] 


Two  counting  boxes  containing  fifty  specially 
designed  counting  sticks  and  sandpaper  num- 
bers mounted  on  smooth  cards.  These  counting 
sticks  succeed  the  "Long  Stair"  in  teaching  elementary 
mathematics  and  give  the  children  a  concrete  basis  for 
abstract  processes.  The  child  associates  the  symbol 
with  the  concrete  objects. 


I-'C] 


BARIC  SENSE  TABLETS 

THESE  are  small  wooden  tab- 
lets of  three  different  weights 
for  the  education  of  the  baric 
sense  (sense  of  weight).     Their  use 
induces  very   keen   susceptibility  to 
the  variation  of  weight. 


[27] 


CYLINDRICAL  SOUND  BOXES 


THESE  boxes  contain 
different  substances 
and  when  shaken 
produce  various  sounds, 
and  are  used  in  training  the 
sense  of  hearing.  This  is 
the  first  exercise  in  develop- 
ing the  sense  of  hearing 
and  is  followed  by  other 
materials  more  complex. 


Case  for  Sound  Boxes 


[2S] 


40¥ 


COUNTING   CASE 

A  CASE  with  sliding  shelves 
containing     cards     from 
which   number  combina- 
tions   from    1    to    100    may    be 
formed. 


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[29] 


SUMMARY 


Eight  Dressing  Frames,  size  12"  x  12". 

Three  sets  of  ten  cylinders  each,  three  bases,  size 
15>^"  long,  21^"  high. 

Ten  Tower  Blocks,  graduating  from  1  to  10  centi- 
meters. 

Ten    Broad    Stair    Blocks,    graduating     from      1 
to  10  Centimeters  in  width,  8"  in  length. 

Ten    Long   Stair  Blocks,  graduating  from  1  deci- 
meter to  1  meter  in  length,  1"  thick. 

Two  color  Boxes,  each  containing  64  spools  silk. 
Two  Rough  and  Smooth  Boards,  size  6"  x  12". 

One  Fabric  Box,  containing  14  fabrics,  size  of  box, 
10>^"  X  8K"  X  lyi". 

One  Wooden  Insets  Cabinet,  size  18"  x  12"  x  63/2". 

Thirty-Two  Wooden  Geometric  Insets  and  Four 
Blanks,  size  5^"  x  5^^". 

One  Wooden     Insets  Tray,   size   11  ]4"  x   \\}4" . 


Ninety-six    Cardboard    Geometric    Form    Cards, 
size  byi"  x  5K"- 

Ten  Metal  Insets,  size  bW  x  5^". 

Metal  Insets  Box. 

Two  Drawing  Tables,  size  24"  x  7". 

Two  Alphabet  Boxes,  size  17"  x  14". 

Five  A4ovable  Alphabets. 

One    Sandpaper   Alphabet. 

Two  Counting  Boxes,  size  10"  x  7". 

Fifty  Counting  Sticks,  6"  long. 

One  Set  Sandpaper  Numbers,  in  box. 

One  Set  Sixty  Baric  Sense  Tablets,  20  blocks  each, 
basswood,  oak,  lignum  vitae,  in  partition  box. 

Six  Wooden  Sound  Boxes,  in  carton. 

One  Complete  Counting  Case,   size  20"  x  6>^". 


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THE  cost  of  The  Montessori  Didactic  Apparatus 
is  150.00  F.   O.   B.   New  York  City.     There   is 
included  in  each  order,  without  extra  charge,  a 
copy  of  "The  Montessori  Method."     The  apparatus  is 
carefully  packed  and  weighs,  when  ready  for  shipment, 
approximately  110  pounds. 

There  is  no  separate  material  fol  home  use.  Since 
the  work  is  almost  entirely  of  an  individual  nature,  the 
same  apparatus  is  necessary  for  one  child  that  is  re- 
quired for  a  class  of  twenty  or  thirty  children. 


